As we embark on the second round of Parent Teacher conferences later this month, teachers are taking a close look at their students in order to monitor progress. They are comparing the amount of individualized intervention the student may need to the advances they are making in any particular area. Teachers are determining if the interventions are making a difference for the child or if there are greater concerns for their learning. When teachers sense that there are greater difficulties, they bring their concerns to the Instructional Support Team or Child Study Team and to you, the parents. It can be very hard to hear that your child is struggling with learning concepts in math or that his/her reading decoding is at a stand-still. However, when you think about the effort you need to provide in order for your child to get through their homework every night, you begin to recognize that this is not the norm. If you have these concerns about your child’s learning, going into a Parent Teacher conference can be intimidating and scary. The following article from the National Center for Learning Disabilities can be helpful in terms of providing you with some reflective understanding of what may be causing your stress in dealing with your child’s learning difficulties and prepare you for positive interactions with your child’s teacher if there are concerns presented during the conference.
